Jenson Button finished third as Nico Rosberg won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday morning.

The Frome Flyer crossed the line fourth but was later promoted to the podium at Albert Park when Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified for breaching fuel consumption rules after initially finishing second.

Button produced an excellent drive in his McLaren after starting tenth on the grid in Melbourne. Team-mate Kevin Magnussen made it a double podium finish for the team, with Riccirado's disqualification promoting him to second on his debut.

Lewis Hamilton completed just two laps after starting on pole and there was also an early retirement for four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Button was quick to pay tribute to his team-mate, whose second-placed finish made him the most successful F1 rookie since Jacques Villeneuve managed the same feat in the 1996 Australian Grand Prix.

Button said: “It was a great drive by Kevin today – I had a lot of fun chasing him and Daniel down at the end of the race, but my tyres were several laps older than theirs, so it was always going to be tricky.

“Still, I had a good race – the car’s balance wasn’t quite right when I was in traffic – I struggled with understeer when I was behind people – but the car worked very well in clear air.

“For some reason, it seems to be more difficult to overtake now than it used to be, so we had to do it during the pit stops. During my second stop, we damaged the nose – which made it a bit cooler in the cockpit – but the guys did a great job of putting me in the right place at the right time.

“When the Safety Car came out, I quickly dived into the pit lane at the last second – which gained me a couple of places. And then the second stop gained me a couple more. They were both great calls.

“As a team, I think we can be very proud of the job we did today. I don’t think we expected to be leading the constructors’ world championship at the end of this weekend, but I think the pace in the car is generally there: in clear air, we seem capable of fighting every team except one. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car in Malaysia.

“It’s been an emotional day for me, but it’s been great to have my sister, my fiancée and lots of friends around me, so that definitely helped.”

The result marks a big improvement in form for 2009 world champion Button after both he and McLaren endured a difficult 2013 season.

Their best finish was Button’s fourth-placed result in Brazil in the final race of the campaign but they seem much better equipped to challenge for race wins this term.